Monthly Archives: November 2014

Hey everyone!! Thanks so much to those of you that tuned in & watched Chicken Adobo for the Soul. From what I’ve heard, many of you across the country made adobo last week! How’d it turn out?? (If you missed it — click here!)

Last week, we talked about moving forward after hard times. This week we are talking about the next step, moving on — especially in terms of relationships. How do you decipher the distinction between a meaningless rebound and your next significant other?

Before figuring out if someone is the kind of person you want to be with, you must first figure out what kind of person YOU want to be. Period.

Before entering a relationship with anyone, friendship or romantic, it’s crucial to know yourself fully; it’s important to be a whole person. Be the purest version of yourself, unadulterated by what you think others want you to be. Get comfortable with yourself.

To illustrate this process, tonight’s episode is about how whole, natural foods can teach us lessons about being whole, pure people! Plus, we get to get nice & cozy with some carbs. 😉

In times of vulnerability, it can be tempting to find or complete yourself in another person — they can become your safety blanket, your hiding place, your source of approval. This can seem satisfying, but in the end, it’s not fulfilling. In fact, it can be downright dangerous.

Getting comfortable with yourself isn’t an easy feat — it’s a process that can feel like a war. So, if we are fighting to find ourselves while simultaneously trying to pursue a relationship with someone else, everyone gets hurt — you are distracted from conquering the battles you must face, while the other person is put at risk of becoming a casualty.

That sounds dramatic, but it’s a theme I’ve noticed lately about the relationships unraveling around me.

If you’re a visual person, think of a healthy relationship as a venn diagram. Each person should have a whole circle & share some with their partner. If one of the circles is incomplete, their unique characteristics will fall out & their existence will be dependent on that space they share with the other person. Eventually, that broken circle will have to fuse into the other. No bueno. Everyone needs some space & love for themselves, too!

I know a lot of my closest friends & dear family are all about serving & giving in relationships — it’s a beautiful thing. But I want to leave you with a quote from one of my favorite books that can keep us in check about loving others from a place of wholeness:

“When you are overgiving, you are not living in abundance, but in scarcity. When you give from a place of service, honesty, and fullness, you are left feeling revitalized. When you give from a place of responsibility and obligation, you negate the gift and nothing changes. You may in fact be left feeling resentful and drained.”

“What lack are you trying to fill in yourself by overgiving?”
– 29 Gifts, Cami Walker

Sending good vibes & prayers to you all as you find fulfillment. For me, wholeness is about serving from an inner place of faith. My circle would be pretty broken without it. God bless <3.

With love,

Tiffany R.

Dining At Tiffany’s

Sweet Potato Rosemary Pasta Sauce Recipe (Vegan)I love this recipe because it’s a good framework for other recipes. For example, I created a similar recipe back in the day when I worked at the San Diego Food Bank: Carrot Sauce – 2 Ways! Feel free to vary the herbs & spices. I imagine sage or thyme would make a good substitute for the rosemary. Get creative! & let me know if you want any suggestions based on those spices that have been hanging out in your pantry!

If you’re not vegan, you can also serve it with meat! It tastes particularly delicious with pork tenderloin. Chicken works too! If you’re not into carbs (no one’s mad..) you can use roasted spaghetti squash or just slap this sauce directly on meat, you primal thang! 😉

1. Prep ingredients
– Bring water to a boil & cook pasta following directions on box
– Chop garlic & rosemary finely
– Poke each potato with a fork about 4-5 times to vent
– Place potatoes on a microwave safe plate and top with a damp paper towel
– Microwave for 5 minutes, flip them, then microwave for 5 more minutes
– Cut potatoes in half & let them cool for a bit

2. Get Saucy!
– Heat oil to medium/medium high heat
– Saute garlic & rosemary until the garlic is golden brown, then transfer to small bowl
– In a blender or food processor, alternate adding sweet potato, coconut milk, & garlic/rosemary mixture
– WARNING: Don’t overcrowd the mixer. Also, make sure that the sweet potatoes are completely cooled down. Trust. (I may or may not have broken a few blenders back in the day, lol!)
– Once the mixture is fully blended & smooth, transfer back to the saute pan. (If it’s too thick for your liking, add a bit of water and/or oil)
– Stir in spice mixture & reheat on medium high for 4-6 minutes

3. Put it all together!
– Ladle the sauce onto the pasta
– If you want to get fancy, garnish with your leftover rosemary (or just put on your sweatpants & get down with your bad self ;D)

Exactly one year ago, my 5-year relationship ended abruptly, at a time when I was 110% sure that we were on the brink of getting engaged. I’ve certainly moved on by now, but even just typing that first sentence makes me choke up as I recall that experience.

When youwholeheartedly commit to something — anything — for so long, whether it be college, a relationship, a living situation, a student organization, a job, a pet, a car, etc., it’s hard to imagine your life otherwise. Letting go is never easy; the mere idea of doing so can be painful. The moment the last fiber of connection is broken, overwhelming feelings of emptiness start to darken the place where there was once light.

As the darkness settles in, we seek comfort; a bit of warmth for our cold hearts, a brief reprieve from the yearning.

Walking away from something you love can seem like an impossible quest, but we humans are resilient. In the times you feel the weakest, you might just find your greatest strength. You can find your comfort from within.

You can choose to see the emptiness as darkness. Or you can choose to realize that you now have extra space in your life that wasn’t there before.

So what can you do with that newfound free energy, time, or headspace? Start moving forward; move toward whatever makes you feel happiest or in your element. Do something productive and/or fun. This is a blessing & opportunity to fill that space with your passion.

I know it’s not going to be easy.You likely won’t feel like it’s helping at all.
I’ve been there before.

But I can assure you that moving forward, no matter how slowly, will build momentum toward a stronger, shinier you. It gets better.

For me, it started to get better when I went back to my roots & revisited my passion. This is the story of how a simple pot of Chicken Adobo helped me to heal & find fulfillment. I’m here to help you get yours too.

Instructions:1. Prep your ingredients
– Roughly chop garlic.
– Slice the tips off the sitaw & cut into 3-4 inch pieces.
– Cut chicken into large chunks & place in large pot.
– (if you’re planning to serve it with rice, now’s a good time to get that going)

2. Braise the chicken
– Add garlic & vinegar to the pot to join the chicken.
– Set heat to medium high, then WALK AWAY (this is good practice for letting go & having self-control)!
– Don’t touch anything for like 10 minutes or so, until the vinegar is almost gone (just like I wouldn’t recommend contacting an ex til the feelings are almost gone, haha just kidding.. kind of.).
– You can, however, add half of the black pepper after about 5 minutes (I’m out of metaphors.)
– taste the sauce. if it’s too sour, let it simmer for a few more minutes until it’s to your liking (like I said, sometimes moving forward to the next step can happen slower than you’d like).

3. Add your personal touch (it starts with you!)
– Turn down the heat to medium (sometimes you need to cool off before moving forward)
– Add the soy sauce & remaining pepper. Stir it up! You’re almost there!
– Taste it again. If you’d like it more savory, add a bit more soy sauce. If it’s too savory for you, add some water (figure out what works for you — this is Chicken Adobo for YOUR Soul).– Once you’re happy with it, add the sitaw.
– Turn the heat back up to medium high. Stir the sitaw into the adobo for about 3-4 minutes, ladling sauce onto the veggies as you go.
– Enjoy! ❤

It feels like a lifetime since my last post, but I am back after a hiatus that was much longer than I anticipated.

I was supposed to film on April 1 and release this trailer soon after. APRIL FOOLS, that didn’t happen, lol! My dear film producer got sick, so we had to cancel filming that day.Given my grad school life, I had to wait another few weeks before I could find time for filming.

Aside from being bummed about the delay, a lot of sucky things started to happen to me and within me, one after the other. As a result, I experienced high levels of anxiety and very low levels of happiness. I didn’t feel like myself at all.

Before we proceed, lemme take a selfie:

As painful as it was, somehow I feel that the timing is meant to be. I wrote Season 2 over a year ago; little did I know I’d be the one who needed the comfort food the most. Every day, I reflect on methods to build strength and get through the mire. Everything happens for a reason, and I have faith that it will be revealed with time.

So Season 2 is more than just my recipes & musings — it’s my heart healing on camera. I hope it gives YOU (1) hope, (2) a reminder that you’re not alone in your struggles, & (3) some much-needed laughter along the way!